A rich heritage, pertaining to the history of art, developed through the centuries and made a major imprint to Kozjansko. The castle buildings originate from the 10th century and were built on the secured places. They had an important role of being the protective line at the Sotla river. So far, some of them have completely disappeared, while the others remain in ruins. Fortunately, some castles were preserved. These are: Pišece, Bizeljsko, Olimje and Podsreda. The latter two have received a new function through the years. However, all of them play an important part in the legends and stories of the local people from Kozjansko. One of the oldest cultural centres in Slovenia, Svete gore nad Bistrico ob Sotli with its pilgrim church dedicated to St. Mary and its chapels, has an important place among the sacral buildings of Kozjansko. The cultural region of Podsreda is completed by Svete gore, with the church of St. Mary of Seven Sorrows, the Ana’s Chapel and the chapels of the Stations of the Cross. Centuries ago, a large monastery complex with its famous cloistral apothecary rose in the silence of the Olimje valley. Parish and succursal churches, chapels, some stone signs and crosses complete the art historical image.

	Svete gore nad Podsredo A gothic church stands on the top of the Gradišče hill, dedicated to the Mother of God of Seven Sorrows. There are also the Chapel of St. Ana and the chapel of St. Mohor and Fortunat. The way to the church is marked with the Stations of the Cross. The central church, which was formerly the pilgrim's church, originates from the 15th century. Large hewed pillars emphasise its original Gothic style. The interior is preserved in the original form only in a three-sided presbytery. There is a very interesting altar from the second part of the 18th century (late baroque) with the statue of Pieta, which was made around 1410. The statue was made in the old workshop in Ptujska Gora. The centre of the pilgrims' worship is a new statue of St. Mary, which stands on the baroque throne in the church. The Chapel of St. Ana dates back to the 14th century. The interior is formed in a unified style. The figurative painting with decoration, from 1902, is a work of Fr. Gornik. The Chapel of St. Mohor and Fortunat was founded at the beginning of the 15th century. Its original form is preserved only in the ground plan, hewed entrance portal, triumphal arch and rib-vaulted presbytery. Today’s neogothic furniture comes from the end of the 19th century. In that time, the church was transformed into the Last Station of the Cross.
	Kozje The Parish Church of St. Mary’s Assumption was first mentioned in 1249. The nave originates from that time. The circumferential walls of the presbytery were made in gothic style. The church has gained today’s appearance through later modifications. The interior was painted by Tomaž Fantoni in 1887. The monuments with the altars are newer. From the older periods, a heraldic tombstone of Christoph pl. Drachenburg from 1516, an oil painting of Holy Trinity from the mid 18th century and a baptismal font from the year 1786 are preserved.
	Pilštanj The church  of St. Mihael  was first mentioned in 1167. The oldest part is the nave, to which a church tower was added in 1466. In  the first part of the 18th century two chapels on the southern part were built. Later the nave was enlarged and raised with new arches. In that time they also built the presbytery and the northern chapel. In 1893 the church acquired a new main portal and a new interior painting. A large altar is dedicated to St. Mihael, and the altar in the first chapel on the right to Hema. Before Hema, it was dedicated to St.  Janez Nepomuk. For this reason there is a statue of dead St. Janez Nepomuk  in church canteen. It is an original local stonecutting product from the mid 19th century that reminds us of stone portals on market town houses. The pulpit is late baroque, too, while the church organ is from the end of the 18th century.
	Bistrica ob Sotli The church  of St. Peter is first mentioned in 1275. The oldest part is the nave originating from Romanesque style. In the 14th or 15th century it was enlarged with new ribbed vaults. In that time the rectangular presbytery was pulled down and rebuilt in a three-sided shape. The gothic vault was later replaced by the baroque one and two lateral chapels were built. They are dedicated to St. Joseph and Mary, The Queen of Rosary. Around 1880 the church was rebuilt in gothic style and a new neogothic altar by A. Pavlič  was set up. The presbytery, which is covered by a star-shaped ribbed vault, possesses beautiful frescos made by an unknown author from 1452. The stained-glasses closing the gothic windows are the work of sculptor France Kokalj made between 1970 and 1971. The figurative door of tabernacle and a copper saucer with crucifixion are the works of the sculptor France Gorše.
	Zagaj - Svete gore The church  of St. Peter is first mentioned in 1275. The oldest part is the nave originating from Romanesque style. In the 14th or 15th century it was enlarged with new ribbed vaults. In that time the rectangular presbytery was pulled down and rebuilt in a three-sided shape. The gothic vault was later replaced by the baroque one and two lateral chapels were built. They are dedicated to St. Joseph and Mary, The Queen of Rosary. Around 1880 the church was rebuilt in gothic style and a new neogothic altar by A. Pavlič  was set up. The presbytery, which is covered by a star-shaped ribbed vault, possesses beautiful frescos made by an unknown author from 1452. Svete Gore nad Bistrico  ob Sotli are famous for beautiful Pilgrim Church of St. Mary. Beside this church there are also few chapels: St. George’s Chapel, St. Martin’s Chapel, St. Sebastian and Fabian’s Chapel and the Chapel of St. Mary of Lourdes. The St. Mary’s Church was first mentioned in 1265 as Monte Sancte Marie. A great rebuilding took place in the 17th century. In 1611, a bishop from Ljubljana, Tomaž Hren, consecrated the church. Both lateral naves were built around 1727, the main nave was raised and vaulted. Oratorio and choir were built to the vestry. The church was painted by Tomaž Fantoni between 1868 and 1871. Today’s early baroque church is designed as a basilica. In the main altar you can see the important events from the life of St. Mary and her relatives. In the nave, there are six lateral altars leaned to the columns (St. Ann, St. Anthony, St. Mary of Rosary, St. Francis Xavier and St. Isidor.) In the period of Joseph II the blooming pilgrimage almost died out, but after 1860 two priests from Šempeter, Jurij Stepišnik and Martin Sevnik, gave a new ardour to this place. The pilgrims are turning toward Mary on the throne in the nave. The statue is especially interesting because Mary’s clothes get changed from time to time. Below the St. Mary’s church there are the St. George’s Chapel and the lower St. Martin’s Chapel. They both belong among the oldest sacral buildings in Slovenia. Their foundation is considered to have happened between the 9th and the 11th century. The archaeologists affirm that their origin dates back to the 6th century. Above St. Mary’s church there are the chapels of St. Sebastian and Fabian. The latter is the only chapel that was built crossways to the saddle. A chapel dedicated to the Mother of God of Lourdes is located at the top.The stained-glasses closing the gothic windows are the work of sculptor France Kokalj made between 1970 and 1971. The figurative door of tabernacle and a copper saucer with crucifixion are the works of the sculptor France Gorše.
	Podsreda Podsreda was mentioned as a vicariate in the 15th century. In 1765, it became a parish church. The old church of John the Baptist was destroyed in fire. Only the presbytery with ribbed vaults is left, but it was turned into a mortuary and was used until 1871. In the 19th century a new church was built. The interior was made in late baroque with wonderful frescos painted by Tomaž Fantoni between 1877 and 1878. A large altar is a carved product from 1865. Above the altar, there is a painting that depicts baptism in the river Jordan. Lateral tabernacle style altars are from the 19th century. The left altar, which was formerly the main altar, has the statute of the Mother of God on the tabernacle. The statutes of angels are from the Castle Chapel of Pišece. The upper part of the right altar shows a group of Deisis and Magdalene, who kisses the feet of the Crucified. The pulpit from 1834 is the work of Ivan Herman from Graz. The baroque concept organ from 1822 is the work of Jožef Otonič from Maribor.
	Polje ob Sotli The church  of St. Nicholas was first mentioned in 1545 as a small branch church  of St. Peter’s (Bistrica ob Sotli). At the end of the 18th century it became a curate and a century later a parish. The nave had a flat roof and a vaulted presbytery. The right chapel is dedicated to St. Rosalia and the left one with a tomb to St. Barbara. The nave was vaulted later and somewhat extended; the church tower was raised in 1866. At the end of the 19th century the church was raised by 5 meters and an oratio was added. Some years later the church tower and the choir were reconstructed. The works were done by Valentin Scagneti  from Udine (Italy). The interior is decorated with a neogothic painting of Anton Pavlič from 1900, who  also made all three neogothic altars. The pews in the church have the features of late baroque tradition.
	Bizeljsko A part of the tower which has cross-ribbed vault is still preserved from the old church. Today’s church was built between 1725 and 1737. It represents the architecture in baroque style. From that time, only the altar of St. Janez Nepomuk in the southern lateral chapel, a baroque pulpit and two holy-water fonts below the tower are preserved. In 1787, the church became parish and it changed the name into St. Lovrenc in Krajina.
	Pišece The Parish Church  was first mentioned in 1651. The church  of St. Mihael  has its form in baroque style. It has a rectangular nave, a double hanging dome and square presbytery vaulted by a dome. The main altar is baroque work from the 18th century. The lateral altars from the same period had been moved her from the monastery in Radlje. In the presbytery, there are four tombstones of Moscon  family, the former owners of the nearby Pišece Castle.
	Koprivnica The church  of St. Mary’s Assumption is in late baroque style, from the 17th century. In 1780 it became a parish church. The initial church was later extended. It was newly consecrated between 1824 and 1827. The main altar is a traditional baroque sculpture.
	Slake - The church of Virgin Mary in Pesek Zunanjost krasi bogata arhitekturna poslikava iz leta 1701. Cerkev sestavljajo ladja, dve kapeli in prezbiterij z nastankom okrog leta 1500. Notranjost je še barvitejša: baročno pilatrsko členjena notranjščina gotske cerkve je vsa prekrita s freskami. Najbolj je poslikan prezbiterij, kjer segajo freske od vrha do tal. Letnica 1712 je skrita v kronogramu na slavoloku, kjer sta tudi grba Attemsov in Wurmbrandov. Avtor poslikav je eden izmed znamenitega kroga Attemsovih slikarjev. Veliki oltar je delo baročnega kiparja Janeza Gregorja Božiča iz Laškega. Na njem je tudi Attemsov grb. Severna, leva kapela ima oltar sv. Florijana, desni oltar sv. Marka je manjši in mlajši, izvira iz prve polovice 18. stoletja, kakor tudi prižnica. Orgle je leta 1751 izdelal orglarski mojster Janeček iz Celja.
	Sromlje Today’s Church of St. Martin  is from 1750. In  the past the church was a branch of the old parish church in Videm. In 1753, it became an independent parish. In the second half of the 18th century a new chancel with the main altar and pulpit was added. The front face of the church was renovated in the 19th  century. The cemetery wall, which is connected to the square outlined curacy, probably belongs to the former “tabor” (church fort) walls.
	Pišece castle It stands on the steep hill of the village Pišece. In the Middle Ages this area belonged to the property of archbishop of Salzburg. The castle was first mentioned in the 14th century. In 1595, after long disputes, Inocenc Moscon  bought the castle as real and hereditary property. Some of the important re-buildings were made in the Renaissance period. Present form is from the Neoromanesque period, the traces of which can be seen in some architectural lines and windows. Unfortunately, the renovation of the castle almost removed its original image. For sight-seeing please contact Peter Skrivalnik, tel.: 031 582 169
	Bizeljsko castle It stands on a small rocky stack in the village Bizeljska vas pri Orešju. It was first mentioned in 1441. It was built in the late Middle Ages in the tradition of circumferential castles. Today’s image of the castle expresses mainly renaissance features. The building has got only one floor and is partly built underground. Four tracts enclose the renaissance arcade yard with stone cistern. On the front side of the castle there is a chapel of St. Hieronimus from 1623. Below the castle, there are some old farm buildings. For sight-seeing please contact: Bojan Klakočar, 07 49 51 255
	Podsreda castle It stands on the northern slope of the Orlica above Podsreda. It was first mentioned as a castle in 1213, but it was rebuilt in the second part of the 12th century. It belongs to the typical medieval castles for it has preserved most of its medieval features. The foundation of the castle consists of a large four-floored tower and a residential part, which is built on rectangular surface. In the northern and southern tract there are mainly residential rooms. Some farm buildings on the western side of the central castle represent the rest of the castle complex. For sight-seeing please contact: Kozjanski park, 03/800 71 00
	Olimje monastery It was build at the foot of a hill in Olimje. In 1404, it was mentioned as a court. Later, in 1550, Hans Tattenbach built a new castle. The present building has got typical Renaissance features. In the past, it consisted of four two-floored tracts with round towers, which enclosed the inner yard. The building was moated, with a drawbridge as the access. The main yard was decorated with arcades on all four sides. In 1663, the Paulines became the new owners and changed the castle to serve their interests. In the 19th century, Count Attems bought the castle and its property and ordered to pull down two tracts of the building. For sight-seeing please contact: Olimje Monastery, 03 582 91 72
	Kunšperk With its geographical position just above the river Sotla, Kunšperk  controlled the broader region all the way to Croatia, where it found its counterpart in the Croatian Cesagrad castle. It was built between 1167 -1174 on the grounds of the older castle, which had been destroyed by Henrik, the Bishop of Krško. The outline of the chosen place had an important influence on castle’s visual image in this region. Another crucial element is the basis of the castle. Its centre is formed by immense bergfrid. In the 12th and the 13th century the castle was occupied by the Kunšperk knights. After 1300, their power slowly ceased and the property started falling to pieces. Later owners of the castle were the counts of Celje and the Tattenbachs, who also possessed dominion of Bizeljsko from the 16th century onwards. The last owners were the Windischgraetzs who united the property of Bizeljsko and Kunšperk. It is believed that the castle was abandoned at the end of the 18th  century. In 1933, the northern residential tract fell down the precipice. Visitors can still see the ruins on a steep hill above the village Kunšperk.